The bus will operate at “Level 4,” meaning no human attendant will be on board. The authorization was granted by France’s Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Ecological Transition, on advice of the Minister of the Interior and local authorities. The bus arrives ahead of the implementation of the final regulatory framework allowing the circulation of autonomous vehicles on public roads in France, scheduled for September 2022. 

The company will utilize its EZ10 people mover, an electric vehicle with PV-enhanced charging. It can carry up to 15 passengers. The service at Oncopole has been active since March and is situated on a 600-meter mixed-traffic route that also hosts cyclists, pedestrians, and cars. It will transition to being fully driverless in the coming months.

The project is part of the SAM (Safety and Acceptability of Autonomous Driving and Mobility) project, a French national-scale initiative to develop autonomous vehicles and deploy them on open roads.